Change is
the overriding fact of life in every business today, but the ability to master
change has become the most sought-after management skill. This is particularly
true in marketing, where the very pace of change is constantly quickening. This
is leading companies to search for new ways to increase and monitor the
efficiency and effectiveness of their marketing dollars while preserving value.

Recently, we
have seen a shift from traditional marketing to digital. The digital revolution
is however, causing turbulent times for marketers as it is transforming the
consumption of media. In the US, more than a third of all video content is now
viewed online, with much of it being on mobile devices. Animoto states that 4X
as many customers would rather watch a video about a product than read about
it. For marketers, the rise of digital media is creating new opportunities to
engage with consumers, but is leading to new challenges along the way.

Marketers
understand that they must offer an integrated brand experience across both
traditional media and the fast-changing network of digital devices and channels
that their consumers are using. They
want to make better use of digital resources by tailoring and targeting
messages more precisely and providing real-time feedback on customer preference.
And they want to innovate by making most of new approaches as they emerge. To
achieve this, marketers need to make the right choices about what they buy, how
they buy and whom they work with.

To
understand these important choices, marketing needs the robust, fact-based
analysis and decision-making capabilities that a high-performing procurement
function provides. They need sharp analytical skills to pull useful insights
from data sets in order to evaluate the potential of new channels and new
service providers. The support of a procurement function can help marketing
fulfill key marketing needs. An example of three major ways procurement can
impact marketing is listed below.

·Manage suppliers: The procurement function
can help marketers manage suppliers by negotiating competitive rates and robust
contracts to ensure that suppliers deliver what they promised. These activities
are what the procurement function does every day across all categories.

·Create more value: Marketing efforts must focus
both on quality and on cost. It is important to deliver maximum value without
over-spending. This entails working with the right supplier. Using marketing
data, the procurement team can run analysis on current purchasing and give
recommendations for suppliers that will not only provide quality, but be
competitive in the market.

·Move Quickly: Marketing is continuously
changing and the digital revolution is a key driver. Marketing teams need to
respond in order to stay competitive. Working with procurement can allow them
to develop rules of the road that permit flexibility and responsiveness while
controlling risk.

Companies
need to reevaluate the role of procurement in marketing and the impact that it
can have. Creating a working relationship with procurement and marketing can
allow for major cost savings, while delivering optimal value. Marketers can
maintain the creative end, but when it’s time to make purchasing decisions and
reduce cost, procurement can help the marketing team understand where there is
savings opportunity without substituting current value.

Strategic Sourceror

StrategicSourceror.com is a leading industry blog that focuses on providing news, tips, and best practices for a variety of procurement, supply chain, and strategic sourcing categories.

This site is owned and operated by Source One Management Services, LLC; the leading consultancy providing strategic sourcing resources, procurement advisory consulting and procurement support services to hundreds of companies.

Continue to visit StrategicSourceror for your supply chain and procurement news and to see the latest tips, advise, and rants from the analysts, consultants, and category managers from Source One.

Thank you for your readership!

About Source One

Source One Management Services, LLC is a leading procurement services provider. Since 1992, Source One has been providing companies in all industries with sourcing services including BPO, Benchmarking, Spend Analysis, Category Support, and RFX Management.